Lithuanian Radio and Television

DEGUTIS Juozas, Vilnius

I went to the Lithuanian Television Center for the first time in my 55 years at 9 p.m. on January 12th. There were quite a few people. A lot of young people. I met two students from my faculty, as well as a few other acquaintances. My son popped out of nowhere; he had been there with friends the entire night.

At about 2 a.m. (on January 13th), you could hear shooting. They were shooting by the television tower. We were sure that it would happen here too. We thought we had an hour or half an hour. They came faster than that...

We rallied together and stood side by side. Tanks, machine guns and automatic guns were firing. Explosive devices were exploding at our feet, and maybe even by some people's heads - you couldn't see everything. Sparks were pouring down on most of the people. Bullets were whistling. The loud chanting “Lithuania, Lithuania" died away. The crowd stood frozen and silent. Nobody ran anywhere - they just stood and waited for death... Amidst the shooting you could hear windows shattering. Turning around, I saw paratroopers in the lobby. As if by command, people turned around and chanted: “Fascists, Fascists!" The loud shouting drowned out even the tank shots. The men who were standing closer to the building went inside. The shooting continued but the unarmed defenders stood firm. In a little while, workers and journalists left the building. Did the men who had just gone in leave? I don't know...

A tank drove right up to the people. It fired right at them. Those who were standing closer could have been burned by the fire from the barrel. A person who had no signs of life was carried away. Paratroopers shot tracer bullets. An armored vehicle came after the tank. From the armored vehicle they were speaking Lithuanian. Between the shots you could hear: “Parliament has been overtaken... power has gone to the workers... disperse.., now you will live well...we decided to rule." Another tank came from the other direction. It lit up the area with searchlights. At that time I thought that they were looking for people in the dark. Now I'm sure that the driver had seen the trees there and had decided that he wouldn't be able to get through them. This saved us from an even greater tragedy and made us laugh.

The tank turned 90 degrees, its barrel aimed at the armored vehicle. A shot rang out and the loudspeaker went dead.

Ambulances were parked in the street. I remembered my son. I went to see who was being taken to the ambulances. I couldn't see their faces. The medics were really rushing, and I didn't went to get under their feet. Four ambulances left, but new ones were coming.

I was sad, distressed, angry! I'm not sure which of these feelings was the most intense.

I went over to Parliament. People were crowded in Independence Square, but they were safe and sound. The Supreme Council was working.